Gingerbread Man Macarons

Since I made my Christmas Pudding macarons I have had so many other ideas for macarons. They are becoming a bit of an obsession. As Christmas is approaching I wanted to make these ones sooner rather than later. I have added gingerbread spices to both the macaron batter and the filling. The ginger flavour is quite strong as I wanted to make sure it balanced with the strong flavour of the almonds. I think it works well but if you’re not keen on ginger then you can leave it out.

In order to get the shape I found an image I liked and drew it out several times on a cardboard sheet the size of my baking trays. Make sure you leave enough space between them as they can spread. I then place the cardboard underneath the baking paper while piping and pull it out before baking. I decorated these using royal icing for the white and edible writing icing for all the other colours.

I love the way you can stack them up although three high was the most I could manage*. You can also see them in the Christmas Tree formation.

I am also sending this to Vanessa Kimbell. After her very successful ‘Let’s Make Christmas’ event she has been compiling the recipes of all the gifts people brought on the the day as well as recipes from those taking part through her blog. This post is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to give their loved ones handmade food gifts this Christmas.

* Unfortunately some gingerbread men were harmed during this photo shoot.

1. Briefly pulse the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor. Sift carefully along with the spices and food colouring.

2. Place the caster sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to boil without stirring. At the same time as this start to gently beat 80g of egg whites to soft peaks using a mixer.

3. When the temperature of the syrup reaches 105°C increase the speed of the mixer. Once the syrup hits 115°C remove the saucepan from the heat and pour in a thin stream into the beaten egg whites. Continue beating the meringue for 10 minutes so that it cools.

4. Combined the dry ingredients you sifted at step 1 with the remaining 80g of egg whites to make a smooth almond paste.

5. Using a flexible spatula, mix about a third of the meringue into the almond paste to loosen it, then combine the remainder of the meringue. Work carefully until you have a gently flowing consistency. Do not go too far as you will get flat macarons without feet if the mix is too runny.

6. Place some baking paper on your baking trays. Fill a piping bag fitted with a narrow plain nozzle (about 3mm) and pipe your gingerbread man shapes, leaving a space between each one.

7. Lightly tap the baking sheet on your work surface and leave the macarons to stand for about half an hour. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C.

8. Bake in the oven for 14 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before peeling from the baking paper.

These look amazing! I can tell why you’ve gotten obsessed. Can you say how difficult or easy these are? I’ve never baked a macaroon, and I have to say I’m a bit intimidated. I’d like to try these, though…

Wow, I would love to know how many times did it take before you perfected your macarons. Most people say it takes a few goes, so any tips ??!
I love your comment at the end about some of the gingerbread getting harmed in the photo shoot! x

Thank you for the lovely comments everyone, it’s really good to hear from you all.

@Heidi – I wouldn’t say they’re the easiest thing to make but I think if you’re prepared to follow the method exactly then you have a really good chance of success. Not all mine have looked too good, my first batch were brown chocolate ones and I didn’t mix them enough so they looked awful but they still tasted great.

@Shirley – Funny you should mention Christmas Tree shapes, they are second on my list to try (if I get around to it before Christmas). Definitely keep trying, they taste so good.

@Laura – These are my 6th or 7th batch but I still wouldn’t say I’ve mastered them. I am learning more each time. I have only used the Italian meringue method so far and am still a bit nervous to try the French method, I always decide at the last minute that it’s too risky. As I say, my first batch looked awful so after that I read a lot about them before making the next lot. The best online resource I found is http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/ and I’ve found the book ‘Secrets of Macarons’ by Jos? Marechal really helpful.

I have so many tips that I think there might be a whole post on them coming soon but my main ones would be;

1. Combine the icing sugar and ground almonds by pulsing gently in a food processor and sieve well to remove all lumps.

2. Get a decent thermometer that you can trust for the boiling sugar. I use a laser thermometer for this and find I can’t trust my other thermometer (a probe one that I use for chocolate).

3. Reduce the oven temperature and cook for slightly longer. This made a big difference to my success – I was cooking them at 170?C before but the recipe I use now cooks them at 150?C.

4. Most importantly – do not overmix the batter. This will make your macarons flat and footless.

Your gingerbread macarons are adorable. I just spent the past two weekends teaching gingerbread house builiding to children and adults and love the aroma that permeates through the house when baked. I have to try these. How fun! Glad Jill from Mad About Macarons, shared your link. I’ll be back. Happy Holidays

OMG … you hit the ball out of the park with these. I am embarrassed to think I celebrate my little round ones when they get feet! Yours are AMAZING … gingerbread men with feet, stackable, iced and fantastic!

These are adorable! I would love to try to make these for the holidays! Is there any way you could explain how to make the gingerbread shape a little more? I don’t quite understand how you used teh cardboard… I have never made them before but I LOVE these!!!!! Thanks for the pictures and details!